You may remember Krystol from the amazing porch makeover she shared a while back. She’s back with another budget-friendly transformation — this time her kitchen — and the results are stunning. Here’s the letter she sent detailing the project: Thank you so much for posting our porch reno on your blog. I was so amazed … Read more

Aura quartz is a striking form of quartz distinguished by its iridescent, rainbow-like surface. Sold under names such as rainbow quartz, aqua aura, and angel aura, these pieces are created by bonding metal to natural quartz to produce vivid, shimmering colors. Some collectors debate the treatment process, but many people—myself included—appreciate them for their beauty … Read more

We believe a house should evolve with a family’s changing needs, and this kitchen with its adjacent sitting area feels about as finished as anything in our home has been. Over the last two years this space has stayed remarkably steady. We swapped in my dream chandelier that resembles bubbles at a beach sunset and … Read more

We’ve done it again. For the second year in a row, the bushes in our large wooden porch planters died from neglect. Chalk it up to miscommunication: Sherry thought I was watering them, I thought she was, Clara had no clue, and Burger was busy “watering” other plants. By the time we noticed it was … Read more

We finally found chairs for the dining room, thanks to a Craigslist tip from our friend Sandra—muchas gracias! You might be thinking: Parsons chairs? Yes—exactly what we wanted from the start. Thirty dollars each? Sold. The green-and-blue swirly fabric? That’s another story. Because the price was right (we negotiated them down to $25 per chair, … Read more

We’ve been in our new house for a month now, and some things have unfolded differently than we imagined. Today we’re sharing what home projects were easier than expected, which parts of settling in took surprising turns, and a few design-history nuggets — like the real origins of subway tile and why fiddle‑leaf figs have … Read more

It had been a long time since we updated the guest room — the last big effort was the hurried refresh we did for my mom’s visit over two years ago. That small, panic-purchased mirror from Target above the bed always felt too small against the dark wall, and its tiny reflected circle didn’t suit … Read more

We’re back with another DIY holiday gift idea. It began last year when we picked up three inexpensive starfish from Michael’s and painted them to look like little Santas. We had seen similar painted starfish in beach shops around the holidays priced at about $12 each and thought we could recreate the look for a … Read more

Our new home had more bi-fold doors than we expected. One pair separates the future dining room from the main hallway (see the floor plan to orient yourself): Another set closes off the hallway leading to most of the bedrooms (we removed one leaf to get the daybed through on moving day): In our bedroom … Read more

Alternate corny post title: Taking the ooch out of traveling with your pooch Many readers ask how we manage to bring Burger along on nearly every trip—from our Alaskan honeymoon to a recent Dallas road trip—so we’re sharing tips that work for us. When it comes to hotels, we made a short video explaining how … Read more